Always, I hear the term “Improvement”.
Home Improvement
Lawn Improvement
Auto Improvement
Life Improvement
I always see people working hard to make everything around them bigger or better. The things they own, the people they know, their social status, their wealth.
Seldom do I hear the phrase “Self Improvement”, and even when I do the measurement used to track their progress is always “success” (wealth basically); so in the end it’s always STILL about wealth/status/image/stuff.
We should be focusing on actual “Self Improvement”. We should be asking ourselves the questions:
“What can I be doing to improve my character?”
“What can I be doing to better serve others?”
“What can I be doing to better serve myself?”
“What can I be cultivating inside of me to get more out of life?”
“What more can I learn to be a more cultured person?”
These are the pursuits worth pursuing. This is where the real wealth is that this life has to offer. These are the things you get to take with you wherever you go, even to the next life.
At some point we are all going to die, and we don’t get to take our money, house, lawn, garden, car, or knick knacks with us. The only things that appear in our portfolio that goes with us are the lives we changed, the love we gave, and maybe the knowledge and wisdom we have gained.
Once we have a broader perspective, the urge to “Improve” all these things around us and the illusions we’ve been taught are important, is just absurd.